Sunita ‘Suni’ Williams, 59, and Barry ‘Butch’ Wilmore, 61, embarked on their trip to the ISS onboard the Boeing’s Starliner on 5 June for what was intended to be an eight-day mission.

Astronauts Sunita ‘Suni’ Williams and Barry ‘Butch’ Wilmore (AFP via Getty Images)

Their spacecraft was hit with technical faults however, including thruster failures and helium leaks.

They were then faced with two options – fly home on the faulty spacecraft or wait for SpaceX’s Dragon capsule to come pick them up.

Williams and Wilmore took the second option and have been up in space ever since.

In newly released pictures of the pair though, Williams’ appearance has caused concerns over her health.

“Her cheeks appear a bit sunken – and usually it happens when you’ve had sort of total body weight loss.

“I think what I can discern by her face and her cheeks being sunken in is that [she] has probably been at a significant [calorie] deficit for a while.

“Based on what I’m at least seeing in the photo, I don’t think she’s quite at a… place where I say her life’s in danger.

“But I don’t think you can look at that photo and say she has sort of healthy body weight.”

Williams and Wilmore are set to return to Earth in February of 2025 as part of the SpaceX Crew-9 mission.

Earlier this year, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said: “NASA has decided that Butch and Suni will return with [SpaceX’s] Crew-9 next February, and that Starliner will return uncrewed

Williams is on the left, and has sparked health concerns (SWNS)

“I want you to know that Boeing has worked very hard with Nasa to get the necessary data to make this decision.

“We want to further understand the root causes and understand the design improvements so that the Boeing Starliner will serve as an important part of our assured crew access to the ISS.”

Wilmore previously said that despite the issues with the spacecraft, he feels ‘very fortunate’ to be on the ISS.

As per The Independent, the astronaut said: “Obviously, when you have issues like we’ve had, there’s some changes that need to be made. Boeing’s on board with that. We’re all on board with that.

“Starliner’s crewed test flight was meant to push the edge of the envelope.

“And when you do things with spacecraft that have never been done before, just like Starliner, you’re going to find some things. In this case, we found some things that we just could not get comfortable with putting us back in the Starliner.”

He added: “There’s many cases in the past where there have not been other options.

“We were very fortunate that we have the Space Station and that we had the option to stay and we had the option to come back a different way.”

In a statement to LADbible, NASA said: “All NASA astronauts aboard the International Space Station undergo routine medical evaluations, have dedicated flight surgeons monitoring them, and are in good health.”

On 5 June, astronauts Barry Wilmore, 61, and Sunita Williams, 58, left Earth for what they expected to be an eight day trip into space as the first test pilots of new Boeing Starliner spacecraft.

NASA is currently examining various options on how they can bring Wilmore and Williams safely back to earth, with a return onboard SpaceX’s Crew-9 currently being eyed-up as an option.

However, the Crew-9 won’t be able to bring the pair back to Earth until February 2025, which means Wilmore and Williams could have a long wait on the ISS ahead of them.

So how do two astronauts who only expected to be in space for eight days keep themselves occupied?

Spending an extended period of time cooped up inside the ISS with nothing to do other than twiddle your thumbs sounds like enough to drive the most patient of person crazy, which is why the pair have wasted no time in integrating themselves into daily life over 250 miles away from planet Earth.

The two astronauts left on what was expected to be an eight day mission. (MIGUEL J. RODRIGUEZ CARRILLO/AFP via Getty Images)

Speaking during an interview with reporters, the pair explained that they were filling their days by conducting science experiments, cleaning toilets and taking part in a ‘zero gravity’ version of the Olympics, as per The Daily Mail.

“We’ve been thoroughly busy up here, integrated right into the crew,” Williams said in the interview.

“It feels like coming back home. It feels good to float around. It feels good to be in space and work up with the ISS team. So yeah, it’s great to be up here.”

Spending an extended period of time in the zero gravity conditions of space isn’t something that’s too out of the ordinary for Williams, as she previously served a total of 10 months during two missions which occurred in 2006 and 2012.

“Best week ever,” she tweeted on 11 June. “So happy to be back in space and on (ISS). The ride was amazing, and being here with friends is just awesome.”

The pair have since adapted to life onboard the ISS. (Instagram/ @ISS)

Williams and Wilmore’s positive outlook on their newfound home will work out well for the pair, as there’s currently no guarantee they’ll be able to come home onboard the Crew-9.

“We have been working with SpaceX to ensure they are ready to respond with Crew-9 as a contingency,” NASA’s Commercial Crew Program manager Steve Stich said yesterday (7 August).

“We have not formally committed to this path, but we wanted to ensure we had all that flexibility in place.